Technology

Western Union Co. has introduced a mobile Web version of its foreign-exchange payment service that enables small and midsize businesses with international ties to conduct transactions using smartphones, the company announced March 2.

ATM independent sales organizations are worried about declining interchange rates, rising costs and pending legislation, but the majority are still looking to expand their businesses within the next year, the results of a recent survey suggest.

Having cornered the mobile remote deposit capture market with its software, Mitek Systems Inc. is pushing a new service it says helps companies enroll their customers’ bank accounts by snapping a picture of blank check with a smartphone.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday that it will offer its commercial card customers a spending control service from MasterCard Inc., the banking company said Wednesday.

A comparison between checking-account offerings from top issuers and popular reloadable prepaid debit cards suggests that in some cases the cards are a better value, new research suggests.

Company Notes

WASHINGTON—An effort to delay proposed debit-interchange rules continued to build momentum March 2 as bankers and lawmakers called for a more effective exemption for small financial institutions.

Merchants’ security concerns are driving the development and sales of new payment hardware at VeriFone Systems Inc., the top executive at the payment-terminal maker told analysts during a March 1 conference call to discuss fiscal first quarter earnings.

As it looks to generate more revenue and to enable issuers of its cards to better analyze their customers’ transactions, MasterCard Worldwide is exploring ways to secure more volume for its processing switch from cards carrying the network’s brand, especially outside the U.S., Chris McWilton, MasterCard president of U.S. Markets, said during a March 1 presentation.

With fewer credit cards in their wallets after the recession, U.S. consumers are tapping more of the total credit lines available on the cards they do have while racking up less overall debt than they were a year ago, according to data Experian released March 2.